Major environmental laws in India aim to protect the environment from pollution and maintain ecological balance. The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 is one of the most important and recent acts. Other key acts include the Water Act of 1974 (amended 1988) to prevent water pollution, the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972 to protect endangered species, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 to limit deforestation, and the Air Act of 1981 to control air pollution. ISO 14000 standards provide guidelines for organizations to minimize negative environmental impacts and continually improve their environmental management systems.

1. Environmental Laws
Environment laws of India
In India the law relating to pollution control is more than 100 years old. The earliest of
them is share (Bombay) Nuisance Act 1853. The history of legislative fight against
pollution started with Indian Penal Code, 1860. Sec 268 defined what is public nuisance.
Legislative fight against pollution continued in Independent India. Now, there is a host of
legislation in India aimed at protecting the environment from pollution and maintaining
the ecological balance. The Environment (protection) Act, 1986 is one of the latest and
major Act for environmental protection.
The environmental laws and protection Act
To protect the environment and to conserve natural resources, various laws have been
made. Many Acts have been introduced after 1947 (independence).
Water Act and Wild life Protection Act were passed in 1974. Government of India has
established a National Committee on Environmental Planning and Co-ordination.
The environment (Protection) Act 1986
This Act came into force on Nov. 19, 1986, the birth date of our late Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. She took keen interest in environmental issues of the country. This Act
aimed to protect and improve the quality of environment by central Govt with Co-
ordination of the State Govt.
The water Act, 1974 (amended 1988)
The Water Act was enacted under article 252(1) of the constitution as asocial welfare
measure:-
• To prevent and control water pollution.
• To establish Central and State boards for the prevention and control of water pollution.
• To provide and confer powers and functions to the central and state boards to restore
wholesomeness of water.
Wild life Act, 1972
The Act adopted two conservation strategies;
i. Specified endangered species are protected regardless of location.
ii. All species are protected in specified area.
Principles
i. To provide protection of wild animals, birds and plants for matters connected with
these.
ii. To ensure ecological and environment security of the country.
Forest conservation Act, 1980
This act deals with the conservation of forests. The main objectives of this act was to
check deforestation, which was causing:-
• ecological imbalance
• deteriorate the environment.
The Air Act, 1981
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 was enacted by the Parliament to
implement the decision taken at the united nations Conference on the Human
Environment held to Stockholm in June, 1972 in which India participated.

2. • To provide for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.
• To provide for the establishment of central and state boards.
• To lay down the standards to maintain the quality of air.
ISO 14000 - Environmental management Standards
• That exists to help organizations
a) Minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e.
cause adverse changes to air, water, or land);
b) Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented
requirements, and
c) Continually improve in the above.
• It does not state requirements for environmental performance, but maps out a
framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective
environmental management system. • It can be used by any organization that wants to
improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and drive down costs.
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” ―
Mahatma Gandhi